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Haring 9:45 Dragon (10:01 SE) The Northern Architect (12)

  They took a wrong turn and entered a high cliffedge. It overlooked another vast red lyrium cavern.

  Staring down from their vantage point, they saw a manufacturing line before a giant, glowing dark metal smelter. Chained slaves were handling raw red lyrium onto the moving platforms being cranked by other slaves, so the crystal was fed into the smelter. The acrid stench released was so strong it made Elana momentarily gag. Anri passed her a sweet to suck on, which tasted like oranges and made her feel better.

  He observed the poor people carrying the lyrium unprotected. Death energy was thick and persistent around their auras. Flashes of anger and fear ran through him as he saw orbs of powered lyrium forged from the fire, removed and cooled so they could be encased into dark round metal shells. He figured they were the Rift Orb attempts he saw in the blueprints. These bastards were mass producing them. He had to stop it somehow.

  Elana hopped off his back, frightened by his aura. His body's glowing outline swelled with a chaotic mess of greenish and dark crimson colors triggered from his emotions.

  "Elana?" Anri noticed her distance from him and willed himself to be calm. "Did you see me feel angry? It's for what I'm seeing and the sufferring of the people that makes me mad."

  "You care about people who don't know you?" she asked with her childish curiosity outweighing her fear for his auric energies.

  Anri smiled, further calming his aura to be a gentler blue. "It doesn't matter whether I don't know them or they know me, all that matters is with one life unjustly taken Thedas's song is weaker."

  She frowned, not understanding. "What is Thedas song?"

  "Let's get out of here first then I'll tell you."

  Elana nodded, content with his words despite not understanding them. He was angry because he didn't like seeing people suffer. Just like she remembered her baba (father) had been before she lost him to the sands. She felt sad at never being able to see her parents again, but as she climbed on Anri's back and felt how strong and solid it was, it was like her baba was with her.

  "Are your family here? We'll rescue them."

  She gasped then shook her head. "A sister said baba and mamae are with Maker. I came alone."

  Anri heaved a sad sigh and nodded. "Sorry. Okay, let's try to sneak around."

  They retreated from their vantage point and re-entered the corridor, taking a sharp turn down another path.

  But the thrumming noise from the corridor's lyrium was louder and more iritable to the brain. It affected Anri's vision, but he persisted with the determination to get Elana to safety, then save the people.

  The lyrium singing grew stronger to make their heads feel heavy and Anri's strides slower. They didn't notice their route was far from safe until they stepped into a cavern full of masked soldiers and their leader who was dressed on black leather armor and had his mouth and nose covered.

  "Inquisitor Lavellan or should say hack now." A smooth and slick voice drifted into Anri's ears as he found himself walking in a daze toward it.

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  "Anri!" Elana's voice freed him from the enchantment spell cast upon him.

  Masked Venatori soldiers surrounded them. Anri struggled to hold onto Elana as she was yanked off his back by a pair of masked rogues.

  "Elana!" He tried to fight his way to her, but was knocked to the ground.

  "Still the idiot trying to play the hero."

  Anri growled as he was yanked up to come face-to-face with the imposter of his clan. He saw an elf bearing resemblance to himself and carrying the same Sylaise vassalin over is right eye. "You're an elf. Why do this?"

  The man laughed and clicked his fingers. Anri frowned when the man's features morphed into an image of a human with angelic features bearing stark green eyes and smooth skin free from markings. It was a pretty face that nauseated Anri with the most absolute disgust.

  "Yes, this is the look I like on you elves. Pure undiluted hatred. Makes seeing you break the sweeter." The man let out a sinister chuckle.

  The warriors yanked Anri's lone arm back, keeping him bound to their hold. Many sword tips were pointed at his face.

  "Turns out this was a brilliant idea. Use a spell to disguise myself with your clan's face and Servis's name to draw you all out while lure little lambs to me." He examined a gloved hand as he added, "Of course, the people of Hasmal will hate the elves but symantics."

  "You've got no idea what you're playing with." Anri spat out.

  The man faced Anri with absolute arrogance. "Oh, but I do. That idiot would-be-god thought he had the only orb to enter the Fade, but he was Rift Mechanism research for us Venatori."

  He waved off the conversation. "Enough of the show and tell. Time you put back in your place." Orders were given to take Anri and Elana to a contraption within the smelter room. They would be used as batteries to power a charging mechanism.

  "Kalias!" Servis shouted from a high vantage point of the cavern Anri was in. The man who had been talking raise his head to face him.

  "You're still here?" Kalias sighed, seeing an inconvenience return.

  Unexpectedly, Servis dropped small explosives into the area to trigger a chain reaction of unstable red lyrium tremors.

  Anri felt his arm go free. He kicked the warriors back and raced for the rogues holding Elana, using a combination of whatever skills he could muster to sneak in and swiftly strike the enemy to successfully grab her hand.

  They sprinted for their lives up another corridor that was crumbling and showering lyrium dust around them.

  "Don't breathe in the dust!" He shouted as they ran.

  Elana yelped when she tripped and fell. Anri retreated and faced warriors who had caught up. With his one good arm, he scooped her up into a princess hold, ignoring the strain the best he could.

  "Hang tight!" He used his body to dodge and avoid attacks, kicking back to ensure they could escape.

  "Anri. Singing is hurting," Elana whimpered as she held him tight.

  The raw red lyrium was releasing a maddening song. Anri felt his mind being shaken and struggled to retain his senses. The corridor around him constantly rang with waves of energy pushing them forward and backward at the same time.

  The enemies were shattered in the stronger lyrium wave attacks.

  Ahead, mages arrived, casting spells to calm the lyrium resonance. It gave Anri an opening to run forward. He was beyond the stage of strategy and would use brute force to make his way past them.

  Staffs were charging up with a spell aimed for them.

  "Elana can you hit my left pocket really hard?" he whispered to her.

  She nodded and hit it as hard as she could to make the pocket's concealed glass disk break and tempest liquid ooze over him.

  Anri's body moved as a blur to avoid the oncoming mage attacks. He was able to get further up the corridor when he felt his legs go under and make him fall. Running boots weren't far behind.

  Elana helped him up: they continued in whatever direction they found themselves in. But that direction was to the very heart of the manufacturing line.

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